Red Phoenix

to Simone. She’ll love it.’
    He was speechless for a moment, his tawny eyes glowing. ‘I’ll make one for you as well if you like. It would flatter your pale skin.’
    ‘No need. One for Simone is enough. I don’t need anything.’ I glanced at the bubbles rising from John’sdark form. ‘I have everything I could possibly want in the whole world.’ I had an inspiration. ‘Is Louise here?’
    ‘Nope. You just missed her. About twenty of them went shopping in Paris this morning. Not to worry, you’ll see her there. Look around Rue du Faubourg St Honoré. They always go crazy in there, costs me a fortune.’
    ‘You should buy shares in the fashion houses, if the others are anything like her. She won’t buy anything for months, then go berserk and spend a fortune on clothes and shoes.’
    ‘I already did. Bought a couple of hotels for them to stay in, as well. Wherever they are, they stay with me.’
    ‘You said they never want to leave. You lied to our faces.’
    He looked blank for a moment, then understood; his mouth opened to reveal his gleaming fangs. ‘No, my Lady, I said they never want to leave.’
    ‘Why would Rhonda leave if she didn’t want to?’
    ‘Because she is quite remarkable.’ He glanced at the pool. ‘He’d better get his shell into gear, I have a big dinner planned for you two. And I want you both looking halfway neat.’
    ‘Oh no, Tiger, please, you know that neither of us does neat.’
    ‘Not a single hole in any of the clothes that you wear. And try to keep your hair tidy for at least the first five minutes.’
    ‘Yeah, why is his hair always coming out? It’s like it has a life of its own. And he hates wearing shoes, he’ll always go barefoot if he has the choice.’
    ‘Ask him. It’s a long story.’ He pulled himself up and stretched, his tail shivering. He yawned widely, making his whiskers stand out from his face. ‘Time for the Turtle to move his shell.’
    He loped to the pool, jumped in and disappeared under the water.
    The water swirled, exploding into a huge whirlpool with the Tiger at its centre. The water expanded and rose like a water spout with the Tiger on top, a look of horror on his tiger face.
    The column of water carried the Tiger to the edge and unceremoniously tipped him off. He landed gracefully on his feet at the edge of the pool.
    ‘You bastard !’ he yelled. ‘This is the thanks I get for looking after your Lady while you sleep your ass off in my pool! You are a lazy piece of shit and should get your fucking shell moving !’
    ‘I think you are in big trouble, Tiger.’ I rose from the deck chair, still holding my drink. I leapt, somersaulted, and landed lightly on the roof of the pool bar about twenty metres away. I knew what was coming.
    ‘Would you like me to freshen your drink for you while you’re up there, ma’am?’ the demon servant said from the bar below.
    ‘No, thank you,’ I called down. ‘I think we’ll be leaving soon.’
    The entire contents of the swimming pool lifted like a huge watery brick. It rose in a single glistening transparent lump and hovered over the Tiger. John stood on the bottom of the empty pool and grinned.
    ‘Holy fucking shit !’ the Tiger roared, but it was too late.
    John dropped the entire pool of water on the Tiger. The Tiger crouched like a cowed house cat as the water poured over him. The noise was incredible; it seemed to go on forever. Finally the deluge stopped, and there was complete silence except for the thin noise of the water trickling back into the pool.
    Suddenly the water on the paving rushed together and cascaded back into the pool where it formedwatery steps. John casually walked up the stairs and stepped out. He saw me on the roof. ‘Told you that move needed work. That was much more like it. Did you spill your drink?’
    That was it. I fell off the roof laughing.
    We walked back in the glowing late afternoon sun. ‘I like that swimsuit. You should keep it,’ John said.
    ‘I won’t keep it because you like it. I dress for me, not for you.’
    ‘I can tell. Most of the time you dress like a street sleeper.’
    ‘Oh, that’s very good coming from you,’ I shot back. ‘You didn’t even know I threw those awful old pants away.’
    ‘I found them in the trash and took them back. I like them. They’re comfortable.’
    ‘I found where you’d hidden them and threw them away again. Face it. You will never see those awful old pants again.’
    He stopped with his hand on